Adding millions to millions…

The accession of the two countries will add 30 million citizens to the European Union, bringing its total population to 490m.

Romania, with a population of 22.5 million, will have 14 votes in the Council of Ministers, the seventh biggest voting power, after France, Germany, the UK and Italy (each hold 29 votes), and Spain and Poland (27 each). Bulgaria, with a population of 7.5 million, will have 10 votes. Currently, the qualified majority in the Council requires at least 232 votes out of 321 in favour, cast by a majority of member states. With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, the qualified majority passes to 258 out of 345 votes.

The two countries’ observers in the European Parliament, who are members sent by the national parliaments, will from 1 January become fully fledged MEPs. Romania and Bulgaria will then have to organise direct elections to designate their MEPs before the end of 2007. Romania will have 35 MEPs and Bulgaria 18.

There will be 15 Romanian representatives and 12 Bulgarian representatives on both the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, each of which will see its total membership rise from 317 to 344.

Romanian and Bulgarian will both become official languages of the EU, which, with the addition of Irish from 1 January, will take the total number of languages to 23.

The accession of the two countries will add 30 million citizens to the European Union, bringing its total population to 490m.